Tristis Nox

As early noon lit the sky I entered a small bustling village. People were hanging colored pennants, streamers, and other decorations on houses and shops. I glanced around wondering what event I was going to participate in this time. I seem to always arrive just as a party is about to happen. The only luck I seem to have. I chuckled to myself as I slowly made my way through the streets, trying to find a place to stay. Finding an inn or tavern proved to be fruitless and I ended up asking for directions. “Excuse me, miss. Where is the nearest tavern?”
A young woman turned to me and replied, “If you follow down this road, past the baker and butcher, take your first left, and stay on that road you should find it. It’s a large brown building called The Nine Cups. May want to hurry though or you won’t have a play to sleep.”
“Thank you.” I bowed my head to her and wished her a good day before heading down the road to the tavern. Once I found it I tied up Aries to a post and headed inside the much crowed tavern. Like all the other taverns I have been in, it was loud and I had to worm my way to the front counter. “Excuse me, sir!”
The large red bearded man held up a finger as he preceded to hand cups of ale to waiting customers and ordering his workers to bring what food to which table. Finally, he turned to me. “Whad’ya need?”
“Do you have a room I can use for the night?”
“WHAT?” He leaned in so he could hear me over the noise of his guests.
“Do You Have A Room I Can Use For The Night?”
“Oooh, lemmay check.” He left to a back room, and then returned with a key. “I have two left. Yer a lucky lil, lass.”
“How much will it be?” he cupped a hand to his ear, signaling for me to be louder. “How Much Will It Be?”
“T’ree silver shillings a night.” I nodded my head and dug through my bag. I produced the three shillings and received the key to my room in return. “ROZA!”
A petite sixteen year old girl with the same flaming hair as the tavern owner appeared from the mass crowed. “Yes, da?”
“Take our new guest to ‘er room. Do ya have another with ya?” He turned to me with a strange look on his face.
“Ahh, no? It’s just me and my horse Aries.”
The girl’s blue eyes widened in shock as her father’s head shook back and forth. “Well, be careful lass. T’is may be a nice town, but even I kant guarantee yer safety.”
“It’s okay, I’ve been travelling alone for a while now. I know how to keep myself safe.” I smiled gratefully to him.
“All right. The harses stable is behind the tavern. Be careful.” Then he turned to take the orders of his patrons.
I turned my attention to Roza who was still looking at me with wide eyes. “Um, ready to go?” she snapped out of her trance and blushed. She motioned for me to follow her before scurrying away towards a heavy wooden door. Every time I lost her she paused and waited until I caught up, then she would scurry off again. Once we made it to the door she opened it and headed down the corridor looking for my room. At the very end of the hallway was my room and she ushered for me to open it. I produced my key and swung the door open to find a cozy room with a window, small dresser, and a single bed.
“We serve dinner at sundown usually, but since tonight is the Nyx Festival we won’t be here to cook it. We will be helping the other people cook for the big feast. We serve breakfast between 6am and 8am and you can drink really anytime of the day. Just outside your room, through the door across from you, and down the stairs lead to the stable.” She curtsied and turned to leave.
“Wait.” She turned with her head cocked slightly to the side. “What is the Nyx Festival?”
She looked at me surprised before regaining her composure. “It is an annual festival to celebrate the goddess Nyx. It starts with the evening feast around sunset where everyone comes together as one and eats together. Then festivities take place with plays, music, dances, games, treats, and everything a festival entails. This is one of the rare times children get to stay up late, play, and get nightly treats. It’s a lot of fun.”
“This may sound silly, but who is Nyx?”
“You don’t know who Nyx is?” I shook my head in response. “Well, she is the goddess of the night. She protects us and is the mother of Hypnos, god of sleep, and Thánatos, god of death. We also celebrate these gods, but it is mostly to celebrate the night goddess. She’s the main deity around these parts because we have more night than day usually, so we pray to her for protection as we work and walk in the darkness. The other god we mostly pray to is her consort Erubus the god of darkness. His festival is during the winter since darkness rules most of the hours during that season.”
“I see. Thank you.” Roza curtsied again before returning to the boisterous hall. I ditched my bag in the room before locking up and heading back to Aries. Once I was out the door Aries ears perked up and he turned his head towards me. “Hello, love. Have you been a good boy?” I scratched his head as he neighed in pleasure. I smiled as I untied his reigns and walked him behind the tavern to the stable. I found an empty stall, lead him in, and unsaddled him. “Feels good hmmm?” I spent the next hour grooming him as I thought over everything Roza told me. I never really thought about other world religions before and it was making me think about my own. *Ugh this is hurting my head. I have way too much to think about already and now this festival is making me evaluate my faith. I mean yeah I have faith in what I believe in, but with all I have to do I never get to just stop and pray.* I rested my head on Aries and breathed out a big sigh.